Ukrainian missile strikes destroyed at least two Russian missile launchers and several vehicles. Photo: X
Himars strikes inside Russia are having an immediate effect in stopping Vladimir Putin's new invasion of northern Ukraine, officials told The Telegraph.
Powerful, precision-guided missiles that the US finally allowed to be launched across the border last year week, destroyed key missile launch sites and forced the Russians to redeploy.
Russian troops are reportedly “bogged down” in newly occupied villages north of Kharkiv, where they are trying to push through to Ukraine's second city.
The city's governor told The Telegraph that Ukrainian troops were now preparing to counter-attack Russian positions as the frontline had “stabilised”.
Soldiers on the front line, meanwhile, said Ukrainian forces in the region were no longer “just on the defensive”.
The apparent stabilisation of the new northern front will come as a huge relief to Ukraine and the West, which had both predicted a major Russian offensive this summer.
However, analysts still warn that the new northern axis may be little more than a distraction for an offensive in the east, where Russian progress has also been slow in recent weeks.
In and around Kharkov, air raid sirens and accompanying emergency alerts via mobile phones still sound regularly, but airstrikes have slowed since the Himare strikes.
Oleg Sinegubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, told The Telegraph: “You can already feel the difference. As we sit here, we feel quite safe now because we are seeing the first results.”
President Joe Biden last week bowed to pressure from allies and requests from Kyiv to ease restrictions on the use of US-supplied weapons to defend Kharkov.
The day after the U-turn, Ukraine reportedly used Himars launchers to hit targets, including a Russian S-300/400 missile battery in the city of Belgorod.
Ukrainian soldiers shell Kharkov with artillery against Russian troops Photo: ANADOLU
At 5 a.m. on May 10, Russian infantry battalions moved forward under the cover of heavy artillery fire and glide bomb attacks, capturing several villages, catching Ukrainian troops by surprise.
After two weeks of stubborn advance, Ukraine's generals said they had stopped Russia's advance because Kremlin forces were largely bogged down in the area around the town of Volchansk.
But Ukrainian troops and towns continued to come under constant attack from missiles launched with impunity from safe territory Russia.
Now the situation appears to be changing, as strikes on Russian S-300 missile launchers are considered decisive.
“It’s difficult for the Russians to use S-300 missiles now. This was their main weapon for attacking the Kharkov direction, and now it is more difficult for them to use it,” Mr. Sinegubov told The Telegraph.
“This will allow the Ukrainian army to be more effective, and the weapons of the allies will also help us destroy their logistics.”
Moscow's renewed offensive against the Kharkov region in northeastern Ukraine was accompanied by a sharp increase in air and missile attacks.
Kharkiv, a city of 1.4 million people about 12 miles from the border, was hit by 76 glide bombs, missiles and drone strikes in May, Mayor Igor Terekhov said earlier. This week. This is three times more than in April.
Mr. Terekhov said that the first signs of an improvement in the situation have now appeared.
“We already feel that the situation is different,” he said he.
“It's too early to talk about the details, but what we see is their systems – S-300 and S-400. , were completely destroyed.
“These systems were used to destroy residential and official buildings, and they actively used it.”
Throughout the conflict, Russian forces used ground-based weapons. air-to-air missiles such as the S-300 and its more advanced counterpart against Ukrainian cities.
Although strikes using Western weapons have improved the situation, city officials said Kharkov still needs additional air defense systems to protection.
Ukraine is also calling on its allies to further ease restrictions on the use of their weapons against Russia. .
Washington agreed that Kyiv could use American weapons for “counter-fire purposes in Kharkov so that Ukraine can retaliate against Russian forces striking them or preparing to strike them.”
Washington's new position is believed to allow US-supplied weapons to be used to strike Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack.
However, Ukraine is still not allowed to use American-provided ATACMS or long-range systems. missiles and other munitions to strike Russia, US officials said.
Meanwhile, the eastern front line has moved very little in recent weeks after a string of Russian victories in the spring led to key tactical cities , such as Chasov Yar, were destroyed. under threat.
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